Sometimes there just isn’t enough coffee in the world to give you the energy you need during the workday. An occasional slump is to be expected, but many people are getting into a pattern of being constantly exhausted at work. Difficulty waking up, putting in long hours, problems falling or staying asleep, and feeling like we don’t have time to do anything except for work are all symptoms. If you’re in this situation, you don’t actually have a problem of not having enough time, your problem is depleting your energy and not refilling your reserves. There are a few changes that you can make today to help get you back on the right path.
One of the first changes you can make is examining your motivations. Learn what motivates you and how you can better align the work you’re doing to your own internal driving forces. If you’ve had an employment or personality assessment done that measures human hardwiring, you will be able to revisit your reports and look through how you’re personally wired and how that impacts your driving forces. The data will let you know what motivates you and give you more focused points to analyze to see where you might be able to find better alignment between your current work and the way you’re motivated. When we are highly aligned with our work, we are more likely to feel engaged and energized. It takes less effort to be able to really get into and enjoy the work. If you haven’t completed that kind of assessment, you can try to do some soul searching and think about what engages you at work. It might not be as accurate without assessment data, as our perception doesn’t always match reality, but it is still an incredibly worthwhile exercise.
Making changes to your lifestyle and habits can also give you more energy. Limiting caffeine may seem counterintuitive, but it can help you fall asleep more easily if you limit caffeine intake in the afternoon and evening especially. Scheduling breaks throughout the day and using them to move around or get some exercise can improve your energy levels and regular exercise also helps improve sleep patterns. If adding breaks or exercise into your day seems impossible, start small and then progressively increase the time. For example, schedule 3 breaks in your day for 5 minutes each and spend that time taking a quick walk. If the weather isn’t cooperating, you can use your breaks for stretching, yoga or meditation.
By taking the time to align your work with your motivations and build healthy habits you will be making the most of your time in the office, increasing your energy and productivity.
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